And Finally, Understanding
by charli911
Summary: Aaron Bass has always shown animosity to Matt Hawkes and his Rangers. When Matt is reluctantly agrees to join his dad and Cody for the weekend at Aaron's cabin, will things change?
1. Chapter 1

**_AND FINALLY, UNDERSTANDING _**

The original characters of High Mountain Rangers belong to Robert Conrad and A. Shane Company with Sibling Rivalries. I only borrow them here and no profit is being made.

Thanks to the writers, producers, actors and crew for bringing them to life for all of us.

/

_**A/N-this is a re-post of the story, as it seems I posted Chapter 2 twice..so, should be correct now. **_

_**/**_

**_CHAPTER ONE_**

"Come on, Matt. You have to come with us!" Cody Hawkes was pleading with his brother, who was leading his horse out of the small barn behind his father's cabin.

"Cody, you know that Aaron Bass hates me. Why would I want to spend the weekend at his place?"

"He doesn't hate you. He just…doesn't know you," Cody finished lamely. Matt laughed as he walked back into the barn for his gear, Cody hustling behind him. "Maybe if you joined us for the weekend, he could get to know you better and learn to like you," Cody encouraged.

Matt shook his head as he lifted the saddle blanket from a railing and moved back out to his horse, settling it across the horse's back. As he smoothed it down, he looked at his brother, who had moved to the other side of the big gelding.

"Cody, Aaron Bass' dislike for me goes back a long time, to when Mom and Dad were still together. I really don't think a weekend of fishing is going to change the way he feels."

"Please, Matt," Cody begged. "I don't get to see you all that often as it is. You and I could spend the time fishing, while Dad and Aaron tell their lies to each other."

Matt smiled. Both men were prone to exaggerate the stories they told of their time in the mountains, trying to outdo each other. But Matt wondered if there might be another reason why Cody wanted him along.

"Tell me, Toad, is it really that you want to spend time with me, or that you don't want to have Aaron's granddaughter dogging your every move?" he asked, heading back to the barn again.

Cody snorted. "I allow her to tag along," he said aloofly. "She's just a kid and used to living in the city. I can't let her get lost, after all. And it's Ace, by the way."

Matt laughed again as he lifted his saddle and carried it over to his horse, settling it over the blanket and cinching it up. When he finished, he draped his arms across it and shook his head. "I know I'm going to regret this…"

"Yes!" Cody yelled, raising both arms into the air. "Thanks, Matt!" he said as he spun on his heels and raced toward the cabin. "Dad, Matt's coming with us!"

The smile fell from Matt's face as he realized what he'd just agreed to. Matt quietly walked back into the barn to retrieve the remainder of his tack, then decided to go ahead and saddle up Cody's and his father's horses as well. As he led them from the corral, Cody and Jesse joined him and together they finished getting the horses ready.

"So, Matthew, your brother says you're going to be joining us this weekend," Jesse said with a smile.

"Yeah. Not sure how I let him talk me into that one. You think Aaron will be okay with that, Dad?" he asked apprehensively.

"I think Aaron will enjoy the extra company," his father replied, mentally crossing his fingers that his oldest friend would hold his tongue while Matt was there. He'd always known that Aaron resented the fact that Matt had made the decision to go with Jackie went she left the mountain. Truth be told, Jesse had resented it a bit himself at first. But he also thought he knew why Matt had made that decision, the boy having told him once that his mother had needed him and that Jesse hadn't.

He so wanted to tell Matt that he was wrong about that, that his father had needed him just as much as his mother did. But he had decided that Matt, at fourteen, had been old enough to make that choice, although he couldn't deny that it had hurt, all the same. Still, in the end, Matt had returned to the mountains, at least of a sort. He still lived in Tahoe, but he now made his living in the mountains, as the leader of the High Mountain Rangers, a Search and Rescue/Law Enforcement group that Jesse himself had founded and led for years before his retirement.

He was getting to know his eldest son now, as an adult, and he liked the man he'd become. He also had come to respect Matt's decision, even if it still stung a bit to know that his boy wanted to live with his mom and not his dad. The thing was, now that Jesse had retired, he saw his son more often than he did when he was still leading the Rangers and spending most of his days in and around town.

His musings were interrupted by Cody. "Dad, are you coming or not?" He looked up to see both boys sitting on their horses, patiently waiting for their father to get mounted.

"Yeah, Dad, this was your idea after all," Matt added, not used to his father being lost in thought and secretly amused by it.

Muttering under his breath about sassy children, Jesse mounted up and spurred his horse into a gallop, calling over his shoulder. "Well, what are you slow pokes waiting for? The fish won't catch themselves!"

He smiled at the whoops from his two boys as they quickly caught up with him.

The three rode slowly up to the cabin. As they approached, they saw Aaron Bass at the end of his boat dock, giving fishing tips to his young granddaughter. Aaron was a grizzled, gray-haired man, of average height and had a weathered face that bespoke of his years in the wilderness of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

By contrast, young Jennifer was a fresh faced pre-teen, her waist-length wavy red hair rippled in the breeze. She turned at the sound of the snorting horses, a huge grin lighting up her face as she raised a hand to wave at their visitors. Jesse waved back as the three dismounted and tied their horses to the post nearby.

Matt took a slow, deep breath as he watched the frown that flitted across Aaron's face when he saw the older Hawkes son. "This is not a good idea," he said softly.

"Suck it up, Matt," Cody said with a chuckle. "It's only two days."

"Two days of hell," he replied, soft enough for Cody to hear him, but allowing his father to remain oblivious as he was already walking off to meet Aaron, who was coming back up toward the newly built cabin at the side of the lake.

Cody laughed again and slapped Matt with a backhand to the stomach, as he jogged to catch up with his father. They were all laughing….well, Aaron was grunting in what passed for a laugh for the old man…when Matt joined them. He smiled at Jen, then looked over toward her grandfather.

"Hello, Mr. Bass," he said cordially, not bothering to put his hand out, knowing that Aaron Bass would never give him the courtesy of shaking it.

Aaron grunted. "Hawkes," he replied in the greeting that Matt usually got from the grouchy mountain dweller. Matt looked at his father, his eyebrows raised in an 'I told you so' gesture, but Jesse just returned a silent, yet stern, admonishment. Matt backed down, but wasn't looking forward to spending the next two days in the older man's company.

The Hawkes trio followed Aaron and Jennifer up the steps to the cabin, the young girl animatedly telling them about some of the things she and her grandfather had been doing since the last time Jesse and Cody had been there.

Aaron and Jesse settled into the large living room of the cabin, which each of the Hawkes had helped him to build. When Aaron's first cabin had been destroyed in an earthquake, Jesse had convinced him to build at a safer location, using his granddaughter's safety to pressure him into moving to an area that wasn't smack dab on the top of a fault line. Bass had been able to find another beautiful lakeside location, similar to where his last place had set, and he'd built a cabin, with three extra guestrooms on the second floor.

At his old place, Aaron had often had what he grumblingly referred to as 'flat landers' staying at his place for a few days of fishing and hiking. He provided the lodging and meals, otherwise his paying guests were on their own. He hadn't decided yet whether he would get back into that, although it did bring in an extra bit of cash during the short mountain summers. But he'd allowed Jesse to talk him into adding the extra rooms anyway, figuring it wouldn't hurt.

Plus, it gave them room for Jesse and Cody to visit whenever they wanted, without feeling like they were crowding out Aaron and Jennifer. The rooms were small and utilitarian, with sturdy bunk-beds handmade by Jesse and Aaron, but they were clean and would serve their purpose.

While the two older men caught up, Jennifer and the boys went into the kitchen. Matt and Cody helped her to cut up vegetables and potatoes that would go with the steaks that Aaron had planned for dinner.

"Why do you still treat Matt like the wicked step child?" Jesse asked, as he sat down in one of the chairs in front of the stone fireplace.

"I just didn't expect him to join you, Jesse," Aaron replied gruffly.

"You knew he planned to come up this week."

"Doesn't he ever work?" Aaron groused.

Jesse sighed. It was like talking to a brick wall. Aaron was so set in his ways that he knew that nothing was likely to change his mind, but it still didn't sit well with Jesse. He knew that his oldest son was a good man, and from all he'd seen and heard, one hell of a Ranger. He was proud to have his son commanding the men and women who were the current batch of High Mountain Rangers. And although Matt did some things differently than Jesse, or even his predecessor, Merlin Pierce, Matt's ways worked for him and his Rangers. So Jesse wasn't about to try to interfere.

He just wished Aaron would see it, too.

/

Matt could see his father and Aaron in the living room from where he sat at the kitchen table. He watched the two men talk as he peeled and sliced up the potatoes. He wondered if his father ever spoke to his older friend about his attitude toward Matt.

Aaron Bass had been his father's friend long before Matt was born. He remembered his family visiting often with Aaron when he was younger. Matt knew that Aaron had lived in the mountains for years. Jesse had told him that Aaron was still building his first cabin when his wife had taken sick and later died in their bedroom in the old cabin. Their only daughter was a decade older than Matt and left the mountain to attend college about the time that Cody had been born.

Matt remembered his father mentioning that she'd married and moved to San Francisco, and she had visited infrequently. She and her husband had later been killed in a car accident, leaving their child, Jen, in the custody of her grandfather. Jen was now living with Aaron at the new cabin he'd built after his first had been destroyed in the earthquake.

Aaron had never like Jackie Hawkes, thinking she wasn't the right kind of woman to live in the mountains. And Matt had to acknowledge that Aaron had been right about that. His and Cody's mother was not the mountain-woman sort. Oh, she tried. But she and Jesse fought often about moving back to town, at least during the winter. But Jesse had always flat-out refused and eventually she'd realized that she just couldn't handle living on the mountain any longer.

It wasn't until Cody was nearly seven years old that she decided she wanted to be around people again. When Jesse hadn't agreed to move back to town, his mom had made the decision to leave on her own. Neither Jesse nor Jackie had ever gone through the formality of a divorce and had celebrated their anniversary every year.

Matt knew Aaron thought that his decision to go to Tahoe with Jackie had been a betrayal of his father, even abandonment. But Matt carried the memory of a final argument that he'd overheard between his parents, concerning whether the boys would stay on the mountain or move to Tahoe with their mother.

**_flashback_**

_Matt woke as a chill seeped into the room he shared with his younger brother. He wiggled deeper into his covers, but after a few minutes he knew it was useless. Pushing back the blanket, he slipped his feet to the floor, flinching when his toes touched the cold wood. _

_He reached down and picked up the socks he'd discarded earlier, slipping them on his feet. Wrapping his blanket around his shoulder, he moved over to the door. Yawning, he walked slowly down the stairs, his way dimly lit by the still hot coals in the fireplace. Moving closer to the heat, he stirred the coals and added another piece of wood. _

_As he began to sit down on the floor in front of the fire, he heard voices from his parents' bedroom. Looking up at the clock on the mantel, he saw that it was just after midnight. He frowned. It was unusual for his parents to stay up so late, since both of them were notorious early risers. _

_He stood up when he heard his mother's voice getting louder. Pulling the blanket tighter, he stepped over to the slightly ajar door. _

_"...not going to take Cody!" his father was saying, in a quiet but angry voice. _

_"I want the boys to go to school, spend some time with children their own ages." _

_"In other words, you want Matt to go to high school in town and then on to college. You don't want him to be a Ranger, like his old man!" _

_"It's dangerous! Of course I don't want him to do that! He's going to be someone...not spend his time traipsing around this mountain risking his life! Look what that life did to you, Jesse! You almost died when that Cousins man stabbed you!" _

_"But I didn't! I'm still alive and kicking! And when that case comes to trial I plan to be there to make sure he gets the chair!"_

_"__And what if the next TJ Cousins stabs Matt instead of you! I want him to know there are other options besides the Rangers!"_

_"__I'll tell you what, sweetheart, you ask him. He's old enough to make up his own mind whether he wants to live with you, in the land of traffic and crowds. If he decides he wants to go down with you, I won't stop him. But you are not taking Cody. My boy is staying here with me."_

_"They're both your boys! I thought we put that to rest years ago! I still don't understand why you let Aaron Bass put that thought into your head!"_

_"Jackie..."_

_"No! Just because Aaron doesn't like me, he thought I would cheat on you! Matt is just like you! How could you ever doubt that he was your child? "_

_"I know that Matt is my son. I've always known that."_

_"Then why did you ever question it?"_

_Matt blinked. He couldn't be hearing what he was hearing. His father questioned whether Matt was his son? Why? And what did Mr. Bass have to do with it? _

_Matt slowly wandered back up to his room, ignoring anything else coming from his parents' bedroom. He crawled back into bed, dragging his blanket over across his body. He wasn't feeling the cold anymore. He wasn't feeling anything except confusion. _

_Several hours later, he was still wide awake, his mind on a continuous loop, replaying the conversation he'd overheard. He heard the door creak open, then his mother walked into the room. Matt closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep. He felt a hand on his shoulder. _

_"Matt, honey wake up." Matt mumbled and buried his head deeper under his blanket. "C'mon sweetheart, I need you to wake up."_

_"Mom?" he asked. He sat up, rubbing his eyes like he'd just woke up. _

_"I need you and your brother to come downstairs, Matt. Your dad and I have to talk to you."_

_"I'm really tired, Mom," he said, not sure he wanted to hear what either of them had to say after the conversation he'd overheard the night before. _

_"I'm sorry, honey, but it's really important." Jackie got up and walked over to wake up Cody. Matt watched her get Cody up, then leave the room. He watched his seven-year-old brother drag himself out of bed and shuffle over to Matt's bed. _

_"Matty?" he said, rubbing his eyes and yawning as he stumbled his way toward his brother. _

_"Hey, Toad," Matt said, climbing out of bed and helping his brother get dressed. Changing into jeans and a T-shirt himself, he then led his brother downstairs. Jackie was sitting in a large rocking chair, while their father paced in front of the fireplace. Matt could see a suitcase sitting near the front door. _

_"__Mom?" he asked. _

_"__Come here Matt." The blond moved to his mother's side, while Jesse reached down to pick up the still half-asleep Cody. Jackie slid an arm around Matt's waist and pulled him close. _

_"__Matt. Cody. There's something your father and I need to tell you." She hesitated, looking at Jesse as if waiting for him to speak. When he didn't, she frowned before turning her attention back to her eldest. "I've decided to move into town."_

_"__You're leavin'?" Cody asked. _

_"__Yes, honey."_

_"__Why?" Matt asked. _

_Jackie took a deep breath before continuing, after throwing an angry look toward Jesse for his continued silence. "I just…Matt, it's hard for me up here. I need to be around people…"_

_"__We're people," Cody insisted, softly, tears growing in his eyes. He turned to his father, the fear evident. "Are you leavin' too, Daddy?"_

_Jesse tightened his hold on his youngest. "No, son, *I'm* not going anywhere." His accusing eyes rested on his wife, who lowered her eyes to the floor._

_Cody turned back to his mother. "Were we bad? Is that why you're leaving? I promise I'll be good."_

_Jackie sighed. "No, baby. You weren't bad." She stood up, moving over to her son and ran a hand down his downy soft hair. "It's just that, with your Dad away so much at the Ranger Station, I get lonely for an adult to talk to, especially in the winter when we can't get into town. It has nothing to do with you or your brother."_

_"__What about us?" Matt asked from where he still stood next to the rocker. "Do we have to go too?"_

_Jackie turned, a hopeful smile on her face. "I'd like that, Matt. But your father and I think that it would be okay for you to make that decision yourself. Your father...we decided that Cody will stay here with your father. But you're old enough to decide for yourself." She quickly moved back to Matt's side, pulling him close. _

_"__Just think, Matt. You'll be able to go to school, spend time with kids your own age, maybe play on the football team in the winter," she rambled, trying to convince him. _

_"__Are you leaving because Dad got hurt?"_

_"__No, honey, not really. Part of it is because it took so long to get to him in the hospital, because they were so far away, but mostly it's because of me. I…I don't like being so isolated up here. I've never liked it, I think you know that." Matt nodded. He did know that, he just didn't think his mother would leave them. _

_"__But won't you be alone in Tahoe?" he asked. _

_"__I won't have my family with me, that's true. But…Matt, honey, please understand. This is something I have to do for myself. I know it sounds selfish…" She stepped back and moved to look out the window. Winter would be there soon and the mornings were getting cold. She wanted to be off the mountain before the first heavy snow._

_Matt was so confused. He loved his mother, and didn't want her to leave. But after what he'd overheard the night before, he wasn't sure that he wanted to stay up here with his father and Cody, without his mom. But he didn't want to leave Cody. Or his dad, although he was still upset about the realization that his father had once questioned whether Matt was even his. What was he supposed to do?_

_He looked over at his father and Cody, so wrapped up in each other, as Jesse tried to comfort his little brother, who was still crying. Then he glanced at his mother, standing all alone, staring out the window. Looking back at Jesse and Cody, he made the hardest decision he'd ever made in all his fourteen years. _

_He walked over to his mother and put his hand into hers. "I'll go with you, Mom."_

**_End flashback_**

"Matt. Matt! Hey, big brother, you spacing out on me over there?" Matt, jarred out of his memories by a green bean bouncing off his forehead, glanced over at his brother. "Hey, Matt, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking."

"That hurt?" Cody asked, with a grin.

Matt tossed a potato skin at his little brother. "Watch it, Toad. Or I'll make sure to lace your potato with hot sauce."

"Oooh, I'm shaking here, Bro!" Cody said, holding out a hand and deliberately making it shake.

Matt just rolled his eyes at his brother's antics and went back to peeling potatoes, but not before first glancing again at his father and Aaron Bass, still deep in conversation.

Matt had always known that Cody was his father's favorite son. Oh, he knew his father loved him, but he also knew that Cody and Jesse were very close, Cody never knowing anything different. He also knew that his father was hurt when Matt had decided to move to Tahoe with his mother. And he knew Cody had been devastated when Matt left with his mother, which likely made Jesse angry as well, and not just at Jackie.

He wondered if another part of the reason Aaron hated him was because he really believed that Matt wasn't Jesse's son. And that made him wonder if Jesse still had any small doubts. He didn't seem to, but how could Matt really be sure. He shook his head, trying to get those thoughts out of his head. Did it really matter anymore? Jesse had made it plain his entire life that he was proud of Matt. Even though he'd been hurt by Matt's decision to leave, he always made sure that Matt knew he respected that decision and was proud of Matt for making it.

Jesse was never afraid to tell Matt that he loved him. Unlike many men his father's age, Jesse had never shied away from showing his feelings. He still hugged his boys, often to their embarrassment. He'd also made every effort to see the important events in his life-his football games, high school debates, his first prom, his graduation-even if it meant trekking into town through deep snow.

And his father never squandered any opportunity to spend time with Matt. He couldn't say the same about his mother spending time with Cody. He remembered more than once his mother not wanting to travel up the mountain to spend time together as a family, even during the summer months when the weather wasn't an issue. Instead, Matt had ridden up on his horse to be with his father and Cody, or Jesse had brought Cody down.

Matt smiled. No, even if his father had ever had any doubts that Matt might be his, he certainly didn't think so now, of that Matt was sure. He glanced up once again only to find his father watching him. As their eyes met, his father winked. Matt had the feeling that his old man had some small idea of the thoughts traveling through his brain. And he was making damned sure that Matt knew how he felt.

Matt just nodded at him and went back to peeling his potatoes.

/


	2. Chapter 2

**_CHAPTER TWO_**

Dinner was a tense, yet noisy affair, with Jennifer carrying the brunt of the conversation. She had only been on the mountain for a short time, and everything was new to her. She raved about the eagles, deer and waterfowl that she'd seen. And she begged Cody to go with her in the morning to try to identify some animal tracks that she'd found.

Matt let Cody take the lead in responding to her conversation, since the first couple times he'd attempted to talk to her about anything that happened on the mountain, Aaron had grunted out his opinion that Matt, being a 'city boy', knew little about what happened on the mountain.

Jesse and Cody both jumped to Matt's defense, but it did little good in Aaron's mind, and by the end of dinner, Matt wasn't adding to the conversation at all. He finally excused himself and after taking his dishes to the kitchen, he headed outside for some fresh air. Five minutes later, his brother joined him.

"You okay?"

Matt glanced over, then sighed. "Yeah," he said. "Nothing I haven't heard before."

"I don't think I've ever heard Aaron talk about you like that before."

"I told you this was mistake. I'm gonna head out in the morning, go back to town."

"NO! Matt, you can't. You promised."

"I never promised anything, Cody. I just think it'll be better if I leave. You and Dad can enjoy your weekend, and we'll get together some other time."

"Please don't go, Matt," Cody pleaded. "I'll spend all my time with you and we don't have to stay in the cabin."

"Cody…"

"He's right, Matt." Both turned to see Jennifer standing behind them. "I know my Grandpa gets grumpy at times, but you don't have to leave on account of him having bad manners."

Matt sighed. "Look, you two, I appreciate the support. But Aaron is one of Dad's oldest friends. I don't want the fact that Aaron hates me to change that. And if I stay, and he continues the way he was tonight, Dad's gonna get upset and say something they might both regret. I'll leave and you all can visit like you always do. Now, I think I'm gonna take a walk around the lake."

Cody watched his brother walk away, Matt's shoulders slumped and his gait slow, hands shoved deep in his pockets as he headed down the path to the water. Cody chewed on his bottom lip as he debated whether to follow or let Matt be for a while. The decision was made for him as Jennifer gave him a gentle shove.

"Go. I'll speak to my Grandfather," she said. Cody didn't argue, just trotted off to catch up with his brother. Jennifer turned around and marched back into the cabin. She moved over to the table and stood beside Aaron. He glanced up and smiled, only to lose the smile at the angry look on her face. She slammed her hands against her hips.

"That was mean, Grandpa. You made Matt feel like he wasn't welcome in this house."

"He's not one of us, Jennifer."

Jesse muttered, "Oh, for crying out loud."

"He's more 'one of us' than I am," she insisted. "From everything I've heard from Cody, Matt was raised on this mountain, just like Cody was."

"Until he decided to move to town with his mother." he began, only to be interrupted by Jesse.

"He was Cody's age when he left, Aaron. If Cody moved to town now, would you say he wasn't fit to be here anymore?"

Aaron stuttered. "Of…of course not, Jess, but you raised Cody. That wife of yours raised Matt."

"So you think I had nothing to do with Matt before he moved to Tahoe with his Mom? You think he never came back to visit? You know better than that, Aaron."

"That was just plain bad manners, Grandpa!" Jennifer insisted. "You hurt his feelings. That's not right. And you better make it right when he gets back," she insisted, waving a finger in his face, before turning on her heel and stomping to the kitchen to clean the dinner dishes.

Jesse could help but smile. "She reminds me of her grandmother."

Aaron, at first shocked that his granddaughter would talk to him that way in front of others, suddenly chuckled. "She sure does, doesn't she?"

"Yep, Jennifer always spoke her mind," Jesse recalled. "And she never let you get away with shit. Especially when you were wrong." Jesse looked pointedly at his old friend.

"Now, Jesse…"

"Don't 'now Jesse' me, Aaron. You and I have known each other too long to mince words. I have always defended you when Matt complained about your attitude toward him. But I don't think I've ever seen it so blatant before. Is it because you have Jen here now? Or just because you're getting even more crotchety in your old age? Because whatever it is, you better fix it. Because I won't stand for you speaking to my son that way. If you can't abide with Matt being here, then me and my boys will leave."

Aaron was stunned at the ultimatum, but as he thought about it more, he really shouldn't have been. Jesse had always fiercely defended his son, like any good father should. Aaron knew that Jesse thought his feelings toward Matt were because of the young boy's decision to leave the mountain with his mother.

And he had been upset by that, not for himself but for Jesse. It had hurt his friend when his eldest decided to move away from his beloved mountain. But that wasn't the reason that Aaron found himself so annoyed whenever he saw the man….well, not the only reason anyway. But he wasn't about to explain himself to Jesse now, not in the mood the man was in.

Aaron just grunted and got up. After grabbing a bottle and glass from the fireplace mantel, he pushed through the front screen door and settled in a rocker on the porch. Jesse watched him go, shaking his head, before moving into the kitchen to help Jen with the dinner cleanup.

/

"C'mon, Matt, you have to stay."

"Cody…" Matt sighed, tired of arguing with his little brother. As much as he loved the teen, he wished he'd just have stayed at the cabin instead of following him to the lake. Matt sat on a low, flat rock that hung out over the water about a hundred yards from the cabin. He was tossing small pebbles into the lake, watching as the water rippled under the bright moonlight.

As the water stilled, he could see the reflection of that full moon on the glassy surface, softly out of focus and moving as the soft wind breathed across the surface of the water. He had to admit that Aaron Bass picked a fantastic site for his new cabin. He had planned to bring his Rangers up to help Aaron and his father rebuild the place, but during the major part of the rebuild, they had been busier than usual and he had two of his Rangers down with minor, but annoying, injuries, which increased the work load on the others.

He wished they could have made it up here, but wondered if it would really have made a difference to the grumpy old man. Heck, Aaron was just as likely to kick them off his place than accept their help.

"Look, Matt. I know Aaron's been pissy, but you can't leave. I want to spend some time with you. We can get up early tomorrow and go fishing, stay gone the whole day. You won't even have to see him."

"And what about later?" Matt asked. "Do you really think that dinner tomorrow will be any different than what just happened?"

"Dad will talk to him."

Matt sighed. "I just think it would be better if I left. I don't want to be the reason that dad and Aaron argue."

"Please don't leave. Please, please!"

Matt never could deny Cody much, especially when he begged so nicely. But he didn't have a good feeling about this. He sighed.

"Fine. Just quit with the begging."

Cody just smiled, having known full well that his big brother would cave.

Having won his argument, he knew Matt wouldn't return to the cabin any time soon, and leaned back against the tree at his back, content to wait him out.

/

Later that night, Matt headed into the living room, stopping when he heard his father and Aaron talking from where they sat on the front porch.

"...think he's out of step with what goes on up here," Aaron was saying.

"He's no more out of step than you are, Aaron," Jesse replied. "In fact, I'd venture to guess that Matt knows more about what goes on up here then you or I do, if only because he has to deal with all of it in his job. Whenever something is going on that needs to be handled by the law, who do think gets called? It's Matt and his Rangers that handle it."

Aaron grumbled a reply, but Matt couldn't make out what he said. He shook his head, then, not wanting to hear any more of the oft-heard argument between the two men, he headed upstairs to change out of his dirty T-shirt. Once he'd done that, he headed back to the kitchen to help Cody and Jen with clean-up from dinner.

Later that night, as he lay in bed across the room from Cody, he could still hear the voices of Jesse and Aaron coming up from downstairs, but wasn't able to make out what was being said. He hoped the two men had found another topic for discussion. He drifted off to sleep, wondering what he could do the next day to keep out of Aaron's way.

/

Matt woke before the sun came up the next morning, moving quietly so as not to wake up his brother. When he got downstairs, he stoked the fire and added another log, figuring he could at least make sure the cabin was warmed up by the time the others woke.

He hadn't slept well, his mind not letting him rest. Past memories of Aaron, his Mom and Dad, and the time when he and Jackie left the mountain, kept haunting his dreams. He moved into the kitchen and grabbed Aaron's ancient coffeepot that had been rescued from his old cabin that had been destroyed in an earthquake. It was a battered blue speckled camp pot, the same type that his father had in his own kitchen. He filled up the basket with coffee grounds and placed the pot on the wood stove in the corner of the kitchen, adding wood to that stove as well.

Grabbing an apple from the basket on the counter, he lifted his jacket from the hook by the door, then stepped out onto the front porch. It was still dark, but the moon was full and the pre-dawn sky was clear, allowing millions of stars to light the path that led down to the dock. Sticking the apple between his teeth, he slipped on his jacket and sat down on the steps.

Leaning against the railing, he munched on the apple, letting his mind remember the good times he and his family had when he was younger. He was born on this mountain and lived here until he was a young teen. He tried to remember a time when Aaron treated him like he belonged, but couldn't. He didn't know if that was because it never happened, or it was just too long ago for him to dredge up the memory.

Jesse used to tell them that Aaron was a different man when his wife was alive. Matt couldn't picture the man any other way but bitter. He would have thought that having his granddaughter living with him now would have mellowed him. And maybe it did. But Matt doubted that he would ever see it.

Finishing his apple, he walked around to the side of the house, tossing his apple core into the compost bin, before heading inside to grab a mug and pour himself a cup of coffee. He took a sip, then walked back outside. He wandered down the lake path, taking some deep breaths of the crisp mountain air. He loved this time of day, when the night sky was just beginning to get a hint of light and color, but the sun had yet to peek over the horizon and it was so quiet.

He glanced back over his shoulder at the cabin, thinking back to when Cody first told him that they were coming up here for a visit. Neither his brother nor his father had mentioned it when he'd called them on the radio to let them know that he'd been able to get the weekend off. And he didn't want to ask if they had already been planning to visit Aaron and just forgot to tell him, or if it had been a last minute decision.

Either way, they didn't seem to have cared much about his feelings. If they had previously planned it, and didn't tell him, that meant they assumed he would join them, even knowing about the bad feelings between him and Aaron Bass. And if it was a last minute thing, and they'd decided to go even after he told them he was coming up, then they'd decided that Aaron's feelings were more important than Matt's.

He finished his coffee just as the sun peaked over the craggy mountain top across the lake. He shook his head, his scattered thoughts giving him a headache. He'd been having a debate with himself whether he was going to stay for the remainder of the weekend or just head back to Tahoe. On the one hand, he wanted to spend time with Cody and his Dad. On the other hand, he wasn't sure if he really wanted to deal with the animosity coming from Aaron Bass.

In the end, he decided that his desire to spend time with his family was more important than Aaron's issues with him, and he just hoped he could avoid the old man as much as possible. He headed back inside to start a fresh pot of coffee, then figured to might as well get breakfast started. Maybe if Aaron saw him making an effort to get along, the man would give him a break and lay off any more snide comments for the rest of their stay.

He really did want to be friends with Aaron, or at the very least, civil with the man, if only for his father's sake. Plus it would be helpful in his job, as Aaron knew these mountains well and would be a valuable asset to Matt, as he always had been with his father when Jesse was in charge of the Rangers. Once his Dad retired, the High Mountain Rangers suddenly became the enemy.

And things seem to get even worse when Matt took over command and he didn't understand why. He knew that Aaron had resented Merlin Pierce when he'd been in charge, considering Merlin an outsider, a "flatlander", which was worse than a criminal in Aaron's opinion. Even the fact that Jesse had hand-picked and trained Merlin didn't seem to matter. Aaron figured that anyone who hadn't spent their entire life on the mountain wasn't worthy. And living in town didn't count.

He pulled some veggies from the icebox and began to chop them up to go in an omelet. The others would likely be up soon. No one in the mountains usually slept long after sunrise. He was, in fact, surprised that his father hadn't already shown his face, as he was a notoriously early riser.

He'd filled up a medium sized bowl with onions, peppers, tomatoes and spinach when footsteps on the stairs alerted him to the arrival of someone, but he was disappointed to see Aaron enter the kitchen. Matt called out a soft "good morning", only to be rebuffed, as the older man barely glanced his way, only frowning and grumbling under his breath in reply.

Matt sighed and rubbed a hand across his face. It didn't look like today would be any better than any other day in Aaron's presence. He sure hoped Cody was up to a full day of fishing, because Matt wasn't about to put up with this attitude all day. He planned to spend as much time as possible away from the cabin and the grouchy old man in front of him.

"What's this?" Aaron growled. Matt looked up to see Aaron looking disgustedly at the bowl of vegetables that Matt had chopped.

"I thought I'd make omelets for breakfast," Matt offered.

A grunt was the only response as Aaron pulled a basket of eggs down from the shelf. As he began cracking the eggs in a mixing bowl, Matt stood up and approached him.

"I'd like to make breakfast today, if that's okay," the tall blond said.

"I am perfectly capable of making breakfast for my guests," Aaron snarled.

"I know that, Mr. Bass. I just thought..."

"Well don't think. Now, if you don't mind, this kitchen isn't very big..."

Getting the hint, Matt rinsed out the mug he'd been using. He walked toward the door, but turned back around before leaving the room. "Look, I know that you don't like me. And I know that you don't think I belong on the mountain or in your home. It wasn't my idea to come here this weekend. But Cody and I wanted to spend some time together and it was here or not at all. I'll try to keep out of your way. I don't want your hatred of me to affect your friendship with my father. Or my relationship with him."

He grabbed his jacket from the hook on the wall next to the door and slipped it on. "I don't know what your problem is with me. If I did, I'd try to fix it."

"You can't fix it," Aaron replied, still cracking eggs and refusing to look at Matt.

"Well, then I guess we just have to tolerate the fact that we both exist on the planet. Because I refuse to ignore my family just to make your life more comfortable."

Aaron stopped what he was doing and looked at Matt. He humphed. "You know all about comfort, don't you boy? Staying in town with your momma, not having to work for anything..."

Matt took a step closer to Aaron. "You don't know anything about the life I had in Tahoe. I still had to cut wood. I still had to do chores. I busted my butt in school and I had a part time job after school. I may not have had to shoot or trap my own dinner, but I still had to cook it and clean up after myself. And most of the time, I spent my nights alone because Mom was working. So, don't you dare tell me how _easy_ I had it! You have no clue what my life was like!"

With that, he pushed open the door and stormed outside. Maybe a walk around the lake would clear his head...and diminish the anger and frustration he was feeling.

/

Two hours later, he trudged back up the front steps, seeing his father standing at the front door.

"Mathew." The tone of voice held a familiar note of disapproval.

"Morning, Dad," he said, hoping to side step his father and the conversation he knew was coming.

"Some reason you decided not to join us for breakfast?" Jesse asked.

"Just not hungry," he said with a shrug of his broad shoulders.

"Try again, Son," Jesse replied.

Matt froze, one hand on the door handle, his hope of glossing over this topic dashed, as he'd known it would be. Jesse turned to look out over the lake, but didn't abandon the conversation.

"Aaron went to a lot of work to make a nice breakfast for us."

"Did he?" Matt asked, the sarcasm not quite masked, judging by the raised eyebrow from his father.

"Something you want to tell me, Son?"

Matt looked up at movement inside, seeing Aaron staring back at him.

"No, sir," he said, his eyes never leaving Aaron's. "Sorry I missed breakfast." The old man looked away when Matt added, "I'm sure Mr. Bass went to a lot of trouble. I'll apologize to him for missing it."

_Was that a flash of guilt?_ Matt wondered, shaking his head at that thought. No, he was deluding himself if he thought Aaron Bass would feel guilty about not mentioning the fact that Matt had been the one to do most of the work in the breakfast preparations.

"I think I'll go see if Cody still wants to go fishing," he said, pulling open the screen door. Walking through the living room, he tossed a quick "Morning, Mr. Bass. Sorry I missed breakfast. I hear it was delicious," before jogging up the steps.

Aaron didn't reply, just sipped his coffee, eyes following his friend's eldest son.

/

"You're awful quiet this morning, big brother," Cody remarked as he removed his catch from his line and adding it to the string, then lowering the catch line back into the cold water of the lake to keep them fresh.

When he didn't receive an answer, he looked over to find his brother staring off into space, obviously not having heard Cody's comment. A tug on Matt's line brought his attention back to the here and now. Cody watched as his brother hauled in his catch and added it to the string line as well. It was so automatic that Cody wasn't sure he was even paying all that much attention to what he was doing.

"Matt, are you okay?" Cody asked, baiting his line and tossing it back into the water.

"Hmmm?" Matt blinked several times, glancing over at Cody. "What?"

"I said, are you okay? You seem to be off in another world today."

Matt nodded. "Fine. I just have a lot on my mind."

"Anything I can help with? I'm a good listener, you know."

Matt watched as his brother played out his line, then reeled it back in, trying to lure another fish. He desperately wanted to talk to Cody about Aaron, but he also knew how much his brother like the old man, and was leery of how he'd react if Matt told him that he was still thinking of heading back to town, even after their conversation the night before. Too often, Matt had been forced to cancel plans with Cody because of his job. He wasn't usually able to take off three days in a row to spend with his family and he really didn't want to leave early. He only wished they didn't have to spend the whole weekend at Lake Jen.

His muddled thoughts were interfering with the joy he usually felt when spending time with Cody. It wasn't fair to his brother. His problem with Aaron was just that-his problem. He vowed to make the most of the next two days, Aaron Bass be damned.

Smiling, he turned to his brother. "I'm good, Toad. Just some stuff that has been weighing me down. Nothing I can't handle. Now, aren't we supposed to be enjoying ourselves? What say, we go for a swim."

Cody grinned and jumped up, pulling in his fishing line and stripping down to his swim trunks. Both he and Matt had pulled their jeans on over their trunks, knowing they'd likely go swimming once the day warmed up. And the trunks were only because Jen might show up at any time. Normally, they'd swim in the buff, a product of living in the mountains, far away from anyone else and often using time at a lake as an opportunity to bathe as well.

They raced off to a huge rock that hung out over the water, Cody's dog, Dingy, right behind them, and for the next hour competed to out-do each other in dives, distance, somersaults, even length of time underwater after jumping off. Cody won the competition when he managed to surface with a fish grasped between both hands.

"Okay, mountain boy," Matt called out, chuckling. "You win! This time."

Cody laughed. "I always win. You've been in Tahoe too many years, big brother."

When he didn't get teasing reaction he usually got from Matt, Cody released the fish back into the water, then stepped onto shore, shaking his head like a dog. Dingy stood next to him, doing the same.

Cody looked up at the small chuckle from his brother. "They say that eventually people come to look like their dogs. They never said anything about behaving like their dogs," the elder brother remarked.

Cody, however, was not about to let Matt distract him.

"Matt, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, Cody. Everything is fine," Matt replied unconvincingly, turning to climb back onto the rock and laying down on his back in the sun.

Cody watched him go, his shoulders slumping at whatever it was he said to cause the good mood to evaporate. Thinking back over the conversation, he realized that Matt's mood sank when Cody made the remark about him not living in the mountains anymore. He grimaced and mentally slapped himself. That was the same thing Aaron Bass always said, which was sure to put Matt in a bad mood.

He slowly climbed the rock and sat down next to his reclining brother. "You know I was teasing, right?" he asked quietly. Matt didn't open his eyes and didn't reply. "Matt, you do know that right? You are as much a child of these mountains as I am. Just because you live in Tahoe doesn't make you any less of an expert in living and working up here."

Matt snorted. "Tell that to Aaron Bass."

"I would, you know," Cody insisted.

Matt opened his eyes, squinting up at his brother, seeing the determination on the younger boy's face. It lightened his heart and he smiled.

"I know you would and I'm grateful for that." He shook his head and sat up, leaning back on his hands. "I just don't think it would do any good, Code. He's had a problem with me ever since I moved to town with Mom. He thinks I abandoned you and Dad."

"You didn't abandon us!" Cody interrupted. "Even after you moved, you came up here almost every weekend when the weather was good!"

Matt pushed himself upright and turned his body to face his brother. "Cody, do you...you do know..."

Cody nodded. "I know why you left, Matt. You felt that Mom needed you more than we did," he said, looking down.

"No!" Matt exclaimed. "Cody...damn..." He slapped his hand on the rock. "In a way, I guess that's true," he struggled to explain. "Mom and Dad...there were fighting all the time...I don't know if you remember..."

"I do. You know what else I remember?" Cody asked. "I remember my brother taking me out of the house to get me away from all the arguing. I remember my big brother letting me crawl into his bed at night when I woke up with a nightmare because of all the arguing. And," he added softly, "I remember missing my brother like crazy after he left, but knowing that he would keep his promise to visit as often as he could, because he never broke a promise to me. And I remember him telling me that it would be up to me to keep Dad from being too sad and that he would do the same for Mom, and that things would be better without all the yelling. And that, as the big brother, it was his job to make sure that his little brother stayed on the mountain and that he would be the one to leave home so that Mom would not be sad."

"Cody..." Matt said, his voice cracking as his kid brother, who was only seven-years-old when their parents split, remembered the conversation they'd had eight years before, while tucked up together on the sofa, listening to their parents have one final argument as their mother packed her car with Matt's things.

Cody moved closer, until they both sat cross-legged, knees touching.

"I remember crying as you drove away and seeing you in the window crying. And when I looked up at Dad, he was crying too. The only one I don't remember crying, was Mom."

"She was too angry to cry," Matt admitted. "The whole trip down, all she did was rant and rave about Dad and the Rangers. About how the Rangers tore the family apart."

"They didn't..." Cody began.

Matt wrapped his hand around Cody's wrist. "I know. Mom hated the mountains, she always had. She hated being so far from town and her friends." He began unconsciously rubbing his thumb against Cody's arm. "She was always telling me how much better it was in town. How I could go to school and play ball." He shook his head. "And I know she meant well, but..."

"You didn't want to go, did you?"

Matt looked away, at the trees and mountains around him. "I hated it there, Cody," he said softly. "I missed the mountains so much. I missed you and Dad. But Mom was so excited about being there, about me being with her. She kept talking about coming back for you..." his voice trailed off.

"You talked her out of it, didn't you?" Cody asked. Matt nodded but didn't say any more. "Thank you. You sacrificed a lot for us, and for Mom. I'm glad I was able to grow up here, in these mountains, with Dad. And I'm glad that you still come visit as often as you can. And now that I'm getting older, I want to start coming down to Tahoe to visit you."

Matt looked up, a smile growing on his face. "Yeah?"

Cody grinned. "Yeah. Dad and I have been talking about it..."

"...and we both think it's a great idea." The boys turned to see their father climbing up onto the rock. "Cody's old enough to go into town on his own and spend some time with his big brother." Jesse knelt down next to his sons, placing a hand over Matt's on Cody's arm. "I am sorry that the problems between me and your mother made it so difficult for you boys. But I am also thankful that I have two sons who love each other enough to want to spend time together and make the effort to do so. I am so proud of both of you."

"Thanks, Dad," Matt said.

Jesse cuffed his eldest lightly on the side of the head. "So, did you catch dinner?"

"Of course," Cody replied, affronted that his father would think they had been unsuccessful in the fishing.

"Well, then, let's get back and get them cleaned and ready to cook," Jesse said, standing up and reaching a hand down to each of his boys.

As they gained their feet, Cody and Matt exchanged devious grins. As Jesse started to release his hold, both boys grasped on tighter and started moving toward the rock edge. It took only a moment for Jesse to realize what they were doing, but it was a moment too late, as all three Hawkes men were launched off the rock into the water.

Cody and Matt surface, laughing, Jesse between them, his clothing drenched and his hair plastered to his face. The look on his face spoke only one word: Payback.

"Cody, grab the fish!" Matt yelled, striking out for the shore. "I'll get our clothes!" Both boys quickly swam to shore and gathered up their gear and their catch, then headed toward the cabin, laughingly calling back, "Come on, Dad, or you'll miss dinner."

Jesse trudged out of the water, muttering under his breath. But as he removed his shirt and wrung out the water, he chuckled. Oh, he'd get them back, but it was good to see his sons able to laugh, especially after the serious conversation he'd overheard.

It was times like that, when he got a glimpse of what the separation had done to his kids, that he almost hated Jackie. Almost. He would always love the woman who gave him such wonderful sons, and he knew that he probably could have been a better husband. But she had known coming into the marriage that he lived in the mountains and had no plans to move to town, for anything or anyone. She said she had no problem with it when they'd gotten married. It was only after Matt was born that it became an issue. And it became the major issue in their marriage once Cody came along.

He sighed. It did no good to dwell on those things now. It was well in the past and he and his boys had weathered the move and, later, Jackie's death. Cody and Matt couldn't be any closer, and judging by the trick they'd just played on him, they had no problem banding together against their old man. He frowned at the squishy feeling in his boots. It would take a full day in front of the fire for them to dry out.

But revenge would be sweet. He'd just have to think of an appropriate punishment. He'd take his time and make sure his boys were properly chastised for taking their father for a swim.

/

The rest of the weekend passed quickly. Matt kept his distance from Aaron, spending most of his time outside with Cody and Jen. The trio saddled up and took a long ride through the wilderness, Jen riding with Matt, the older Hawkes brother giving her some pointers in how to handle the horse, since she didn't have much experience.

Although she'd been living with her grandfather for several months, and he was teaching her a lot, she wasn't allowed to venture far from the cabin without him. So she relished the chance to get out and explore with Matt and Cody. They showed her some of the places they found interesting and some places to stay away from. They talked about others that lived in the area, who was friendly, who to stay away from, and pointed out different trails and landmarks.

On the ride back, Matt settled the young girl in front of him and handed her the reins, allowing her to guide the horse back, but ready to take over if needed. But Jen was fearless and eager to learn, picking things up quickly. They took it slow, in no real hurry, since they still had a couple hours of daylight left. Along the way, she asked a multitude of questions, absorbing all the information the two brothers passed along.

And they'd managed to shoot a couple of good-sized rabbits on the return trip that would be a good meal when they got back. They managed to return an hour before sunset, handing off the rabbits to Jesse while they took care of the horses. Jen followed Jesse to help him with dinner, regaling him with everything she'd seen and learned during her ride.

During dinner, she continued to effuse on their adventure, to the amusement of everyone. She asked more questions and the others tried to answer as best they could, barely getting a reply out before she began talking again. It was obvious that she was excited about everything she'd seen and was anxious to learn more.

When Cody and Jesse had first met Jen, she seemed more reserved and shy. Jesse knew it was likely because of all the changes that had occurred, first with her parents' deaths and then the relocation to the mountains, which was a total change from the city she had been living in. Jesse felt that this exuberant and lively child was the true Jen and now that she was becoming more comfortable in her new environment, she was eager to learn everything she could.

Jesse glanced at Aaron who sat at the other end of the table. The older man appeared a bit dazed by this heretofore unseen version of his grandchild. Blinking, Aaron looked at Jesse, who could almost hear his thoughts. _Who is this child and where did she come from?_

Jesse chuckled to see his old friend so flummoxed. He raised his glass of homemade wine, a smile spreading wide across his face. And he was grateful he'd only had sons.

/


	3. Chapter 3

**_CHAPTER THREE _**

**_A month later _**

Matt Hawkes was leading his horse, holding the reins lightly while watching the ground, following a set of small tracks. He had been heading to his father's for a surprise visit, but along the way had come across some lone footprints that he felt he needed to check out. They looked like they were for a small adult or child, possibly a young teenager. He hadn't spotted any other tracks, so couldn't be sure if someone was lost or not.

Glancing around, he realized he wasn't far from Aaron Bass' place and wondered if the tracks were his granddaughter. He wouldn't have been all that worried if it was Jen, except that she seemed to be following some bear tracks. And the tracks appeared to be that of an adult and cub, which could be more dangerous than a rabid wolf if Jen inadvertently got between mother and child.

As he moved closer to the stream that through this part of the forest, his horse began to get antsy, whinnying and pulling on the reins. He stopped and settled the horse back down, then moved back a bit and tied off the reins lightly enough that the animal could get away if it really needed to, but still keep it there if whatever alerted the horse moved away in another direction. Slipping his rifle from the scabbard, he checked that it was ready to fire if needed.

He walked slowly through the trees, continuing to follow the tracks. He jerked his head up at the scream.

He raced through the forest. The voice had sounded like a young female. His gut was telling him it was Jen and his instincts were confirmed as he moved around a large tree to find Jen frozen about twenty yards in front of him, a large grizzly growling at her from beside the stream. Matt saw the cub tucked up behind its mother.

He moved slowly yet deliberately, not wanting to cause the bear to attack, but needing to get between the animal and the girl. He raised his rifle and fired off several rounds, hoping to scare off the mama bear. But it just seemed to enrage her further and she headed straight for Jen. Dropping the now empty rifle, Matt ran at Jen and tackled her to the ground. He wrapped his body around hers, tucking her head against his chest with one arm and wrapping the other around his own head, trying to protect himself while making as small a target as possible.

He grunted as the claws raked down his back. Jen screamed again and he tightened his hold on her. "Shh, play dead," he said into her ear, and tried to follow his own advice even as the bear swiped at him again, this time catching the back of his right thigh. He tried not to move, hoping the bear would think he was no longer a threat and move on.

After one final swipe, which tore through both jacket and skin on his lower back, he heard the shuffle of the big paws walking away. He stayed still for a full five minutes, listening for any movement close by. Then he slowly lifted his head and looked over his shoulder, wincing as the movement pulled at the injuries to his back and leg.

Not seeing any sign of the bear or her cub, he loosened his hold on the girl. "Are you hurt?" he asked in a quiet voice, the pain obvious in his voice.

"I...I d-d-don't think so," she whimpered.

"Can you move?"

As she slid out from under him, she accidentally moved his leg. He hissed and reached down, his breath catching as the pain shot through him.

"I'm s-s-sorry," she gasped.

"S'okay," he muttered as he tried not to move. He lay there for several long minutes, trying to catch his breath and willing himself to move. She watched, glancing around periodically to be sure the bear wasn't returning, afraid to touch him.

When he looked up, he saw the tears rolling down her face. She was rubbing her hands up and down her legs nervously. He reached out a hand and grasped one of hers, startling her.

"It's gonna be okay, Jen. But I'm gonna need your help."

She nodded and wiped her other hand across her face in an effort to stem the flow of tears. It didn't work very well, but he totally understood her fear. He put both of his hands on the ground and pushed himself to a sitting position, his right leg screaming with pain as he moved it. He knew that walking on it would be nearly impossible, but there was no way he was sending Jen into the woods alone. If he could make it to his horse, they could ride the short distance back to Aaron's.

He wondered if the man had heard the shots and if he would bother to investigate. He hoped so, considering Jen was out here, but you could never tell with the crotchety old guy.

"Hand me my rifle," he told the girl. She jumped up and ran to pick it up. Coming back, she handed it to him. Using it as a crutch, he pushed himself off the ground, nearly going back down at the pain. "Aaaahhhhh!" He leaned heavily on the firearm, using every ounce of strength he had to stay upright, panting at the effort.

"Matt! Matt..." Jen reached out for him, but was afraid to touch him. He bleeding from the leg and the back of his jacket was ripped to shreds and blood was all over his back. "Oh, God, I don't know what to do!" She took several deep breaths, calming herself and then moved up close to him. "Matt, lean on me," she said.

He opened his eyes, tears stinging them, to find her standing in front of him. He reached out his free hand, cupping her face. He could see the fear on her face, but he saw determination, too. He nodded and moved his hand to her shoulder.

"My horse is that way," he said, pointed to his left. "If you can help me get there, we can ride to your granddad's place."

She nodded and moved up next to him. She was afraid to put her arm around him for fear of hurting him further, but if he needed to lean on her, she would do what she could.

It took a very long time to go a short distance, but she cried out when she spotted the big white stallion. It wasn't in exactly the same place Matt had left it, but it wasn't too much further away either. She made sure that Matt had his balance before hurrying over to gather up the reins and walk the tall horse back to his owner.

Matt glanced up, his vision blurring. He knew he was losing blood fast and needed to get to Aaron's. He knew that, no matter how the man felt about him personally, who wouldn't turn away an injured man. At the very least, he'd call the Rangers. He glanced at his horse. _Damn, when had that ornery animal gotten so big,_ he thought. He wasn't sure he'd be able to lift himself into the saddle.

"Jen...you need...get A...Aaron... ride home...get Aaron..." he gasped out.

"No, you have to come with me!" she insisted, even as he shook his head.

"Can't... can't get up...on horse..."

"Matt, please," she pleaded.

He stared at her for a full minute before nodding his head and straightening up. She pulled the horse closer and he reached up to grab the horn. Taking a moment to catch his breath and brace for the pain, he put as much weight as he could on his injured leg, before lifting the other leg, slipping it into the stirrup and pushing up.

It took a Herculean effort, but he finally settled, very ungracefully in the saddle. "Oh god," he breathed out, his entire body seizing in pain. His vision grayed out a bit, so he slammed his eyes shut. His mind flitted over the thought that he was grateful that the horse was well-trained and didn't shy away from him as he clumsily mounted.

"I don't think I can lift you up, Jen," he told the redheaded girl. "Can you find a rock you can climb onto and lead the horse over?" She glanced around and found a likely spot.

"Hang on, Matt," she instructed. Once she was sure he had a grip on the saddle-horn, she led the horse over, then climbed onto the rock. Matt slid back a bit, allowing her to slide in front of him. "Wrap your arms around me, Matt, and hold on."

He weakly reached around her and grabbed the horn with one hand. Jen lightly kicked her heels into the horse's side and tried to remember everything Matt had taught her about controlling the horse. Luckily the cabin wasn't far away, but just as she thought that, she felt more of Matt's weight leaning against her back and she prayed he would stay on the horse.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the roof of the cabin come into view. In a hurry to get her grandfather's assistance however, she inadvertently jerked on the reins, which caused the horse to falter.

Matt started sliding sideways and she was unable to hold his weight. He slid to the ground with a heavy thud.

/

"No!" she cried as she hopped down beside him. "Matt?! Matt, wake up!" She shook him, but got no response. "Matt, please, wake up!" she pleaded. Looking around, she made a quick decision. "I'll be right back, Matt. I'm gonna go get Grandpa!"

She quickly took off on foot, figuring it would be faster than trying to get back on the horse that she was halfway afraid of anyway. Two minutes later she was racing up the steps of the cabin.

"Grandpa! Grandpa, I need your help, where are you?!"

She turned as he called out from the kitchen. "What's all the hollerin' about, child?" He walked out, drying his hands on a towel, only to have his hand grabbed as she let him toward the door.

"We have to hurry!" she said, pulling on his hand as he stopped her. "The bear...bleeding..."

"What's all the excitement, child?"

"He's hurt! We have to hurry!" she cried, pulling on his hand again, trying to get him to move.

"Jennifer, stop." She did, reluctantly. "Now, who is hurt?"

"Matt!"

"Matt Hawkes?"

"Yes, please, Grandpa!" she began to cry and grabbed his sleeve, tugging him forward again.

He decided to go ahead and follow her, grabbing his jacket as he walked out the door. Once she realized he was coming, she let go off his hand and raced off, periodically turning back to be sure he was still behind her. She knelt down next to Matt, joined less than a minute later by a huffing Aaron, who wasn't used to being in such a hurry.

If he hadn't already been out of breath, he would have gasped at the blood that covered Matt's jacket.

"Dear God, what happened?" he asked, lifted the back of the jacket to check the damage to his skin.

"Bear," Jen said, quietly, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Where did this happen?" he asked, looking around.

"Over by the r-r-river," she said, finding it difficult to talk, breathe and cry at the same time. "I was picking some wildflowers. When I stood up and-and-and turned around, it was r-r-right there. I screamed. I think I m-m-m-made it m-mad."

"What was he doing there?" Aaron asked, noticing two or three very deep gashes, and several other, less severe, ones. Only the deep ones were still bleeding with any seriousness, but they all could prove difficult if they got infected.

"I guess...he must have h-h-heard me scream."

Aaron pulled the jacket back down, needing to get the young man back to his cabin before he could begin to treat him. "Jennifer, go get the horse," he instructed her. As she went to grab Shadow's reins, he pondered how to get the man onto the horse. Matt was tall and muscular, and Aaron wasn't sure he'd be able to lift him.

He was startled at the quiet, "Just help me stand," from the man beside him.

"Think you can get on the horse if I help you?" Aaron asked, seeing the pain flash across Matt's face as he tried to move.

"Yeah, I think so."

It was a lengthy and painful move for Matt, but finally he was on the back of his horse. Aaron helped Jen up behind him. "Wrap your arms around him and hold onto the saddle horn."

"It didn't help before," she said.

"Yell out if he starts to fall, I'll be right here."

She nodded and put her arms around Matt, barely able to grab the horn, but determined to not let him fall again. Aaron gathered up the reins, and staying close to the horse's head, began a slow and careful walk back to his cabin. Except for one brief moment when Matt began to slide sideways, caught by the pair before he could move to far, they made it back to the cabin without incident. Matt had lost consciousness again about halfway there.

Aaron had spent the short trip chastising himself for not getting into town to get the small part he needed to repair his radio, which had been on the fritz for the better part of two weeks. He also made a mental list of the first aid supplies he had at the cabin and hoped he had enough to at least stop the bleeding and bandage Matt's wounds.

Glancing at the sky, he knew it would be too late to try to make it down the mountain in his beat up old truck. And he was hesitant to send Jennifer off to Jesse's for help, as it was a good two hours by horseback, which meant it would be well dark by the time she got there-and that was even if she could find the place, since she'd only been there twice and both times by truck.

He shook his head. No, he would just have to do his best for Matt and then get him down to town the next day. He glanced over his shoulder as he pulled the horse close to the porch. He tied the reins around the porch railing, then reached up to help his granddaughter from the large animal.

Matt came around enough to at least assist Aaron in getting him into the house, but they barely made it to one of the two beds in the downstairs guestroom before he passed out again. Aaron pushed and pulled him all the way onto the mattress, pausing to catch his breath before order Jennifer to grab as many towels and sheets as she could carry.

Aaron hurried to the kitchen and pulled the large first aid kit from the pantry where he stored it. Setting it on the table, he then filled every pot and kettle he had and put them on the stove top, then stoked the fire inside and added more wood to get the water heated as quickly as possible. He grabbed the bag then rushed back to Matt.

He set the bag on the nightstand, pushing that lamp out of the way. Then he pulled a knife from this belt and began the laborious task of removing Matt's jacket and shirt, trying to be careful not to injure the young man further as he did. It worried him that Matt never stirred during the process, even as he peeled the blood-soaked T-shirt away from the jagged wounds on Matt's back. The blood had partially dried, causing the cloth to stick to the skin. It should have been painful, but Matt never moved.

Once his back was exposed, Aaron got a good look at the injuries. There were five long scrapes across Matt's back, going from his right shoulder toward his left hip. Two were fairly deep, the others more shallow, but all would likely need stitches. He shook his head, praying that he had enough supplies to treat the wound.

He then took the blade of the knife and cut up the back of Matt's right leg, exposing the injury to his thigh. It didn't appear as deep but it was still bleeding. He debated which wound he needed to treat first and finally decided it really didn't matter, he just needed to get started.

So he turned and walked out of the room, passing Jennifer in the hallway, burdened with towels and sheets. He helped her get everything into the bedroom, pulling the second bed closer to put everything onto. Then he headed back to the kitchen to get the water to clean the wounds.

When he returned, carrying a steaming kettle and a large empty bowl, he found Jennifer standing by the bed, staring at Matt's back, crying.

"Jen, hon, I need your help," Aaron said, wanting to give his granddaughter something to do, to keep her from being so upset. When she didn't move or look at him, he set the bowl on the nightstand and the kettle on the floor. He stepped up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Jennifer, I need to clean the cuts and get him bandaged," he said quietly, but firmly. "I need your help."

She nodded, then looked over her shoulder at him. "He saved my life, Grandpa. That bear was coming at me."

Aaron closed his eyes briefly, sending up a prayer of thanks that those awful wounds weren't on the skin of his only grandchild. He moved one hand onto her head. "We'll help him get fixed up, then tomorrow we'll get him down to the hospital."

She nodded and wiped a sleeve across her eyes. "What can I do?"

Aaron smiled. "That's my girl," he said, stepping to pick up the kettle and pouring the water into the bowl. "Hand me one of the towels, we'll start by cleaning up these wounds."

/

For two hours, man and child worked together to clean, stitch and bandage the wounds on Matt's back and leg. Finally, Aaron pulled the warm quilt up over the unconscious man, placing his hand on Matt's forehead, noticing a slight fever beginning. He'd have to keep a close eye on that, he mentally reminded himself.

Aaron stood back up, reaching for his lower back, rubbing at the stiffness that had settled in from being hunched over his 'patient' for so long. He watched as Jennifer gathered up all the bloody towels and the remnants of the sheets Aaron had used for bandages. The old man picked up the bowl, now filled with red-tinged water. He'd had to empty and refill the bowl nearly a dozen times before he finished.

He carried the bowl outside and dumped it. It was full on dark now and he knew he wouldn't get much sleep that night. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for the long night ahead. He glanced toward the general direction of Jesse's cabin, and silently chastised himself again for not having a working radio. He knew better and yet he still didn't get it fixed. He hated going into town and always put it off as long as he could. And now, it could cost the life of the son of his closest and dearest friend.

He shook his head. _No. No_, he would not allow Matt Hawkes to die. Determined to make sure the boy survived the night, he hurried back to his cabin. Checking on Matt once more and determining that nothing had changed, he instructed Jennifer to keep an eye on her savior, and to come get him if anything changed. Then grabbing a flashlight, he went back outside.

He started up his old truck and pulled it around so that it was right next to the porch. Then heading back inside, he gathered up extra pillows and blankets took them outside, setting up a pallet in the bed of his truck. Finally satisfied that he had done all he could, he went back inside to check on Matt and Jennifer, before putting together something for dinner.

During the night, Matt's fever rose and he became restless. Aaron continued to wipe him down with cool water. He was watching his granddaughter as she slept in the extra bed, when a cry from Matt drew his attention.

_"Dad, dad, where are you?" _

Aaron sat down on the bed next to his patient, once again drawing the damp cloth across his neck and shoulder. "It's okay, Matt. It'll be light soon and we'll get you some real medical help."

Matt's eyes opened, blinking, confusion apparent in the green orbs. _"Why isn't dad here? Where's Cody? Mom...Mom, I want to go back. I don't like it here. I want dad. I want to go home."_

"Easy, Matt," Aaron said, trying to calm the young man. "Calm down."

_"I want my dad. Where's my dad?" _Matt pushed himself up and tried to move off the bed. Aaron tossed the cloth back into the bowl and used both hands to try to keep Matt from moving.

"Easy, boy, don't want those wounds to open back up again." For several minutes, it was a struggle between the delirious, but still strong young man, and Aaron. Finally, the fight seemed to go out of the Matt as he slumped back down onto the sweat-soaked sheets.

_"Please...I just want to go home. Please." _

"Shh. It'll be okay, Matt. You'll be home soon."

As Matt dropped into an exhausted and fevered sleep again, Aaron stood up. Stretching the kinks out of his back, he picked up the bowl and headed back to the kitchen for some fresh cool water. Re-filling the bowl, he headed back to the bedroom. He set the bowl down on the nightstand, dropped the washcloth back into the water.

He could see that Matt was restless again. Although his eyes were still closed, the minor movement from his arms and legs showed that his sleep wasn't calm.

Aaron wondered where the boy's mind was at in his fever. Was he dreaming or remembering something from his childhood. Aaron sighed. When Matt was young, his father used to bring him to see Aaron all the time and he enjoyed having the boy around. As he sat there listening to Matt's fevered murmurings, he took a good hard look at his own actions over the years.

Matt had been just a little older then Jennifer when he and his mother had left the mountain and moved to Tahoe. Aaron remembered Jesse being very despondent over the loss of his wife and son. He doted on Cody and enjoyed having the boy with him, but Matt was his first born, and he missed him.

It was the first and last time he'd ever seen Jesse cry, the night he and Cody had come over and he'd admitted that his marriage was failing and that his wife had moved back to Tahoe. The tears had come when he told Aaron that Matt had decided to move to Tahoe with Jackie.

It had surprised Aaron. The boy loved the mountains. He didn't understand why Matt had left. And it was at that moment, when he saw those tears streaming down Jesse's face, as the tough ex-Marine cradled his youngest, who lay sleeping in his arms...it was that moment that Aaron began to hate a fourteen-year-old boy.

It was the first time Aaron had ever admitted, even to himself, that he had actually felt hatred for the boy. He shook his head, ashamed that he'd ever felt that way. Yes, he hurt for Jesse, that half his family had moved away. But to have such intense feelings for a young boy... Aaron was grateful that his wife had passed away. She would have slapped him into next year for feeling that way toward such a young boy.

Over the weeks that followed Jackie and Matt leaving, Jesse had come to terms with it and even had the chance to talk to Matt. He seemed to be, if not happy, at least understanding of Matt's reasons for accompanying his mother to Tahoe. But for some reason, Aaron just couldn't get past the fact that Matt had deserted his father. Funny, it never seemed to matter that Jackie left. Of course, Aaron never thought she fit in the mountains anyway, not like his Jennifer. He supposed that it was inevitable that she would leave eventually. He just wished she hadn't taken the boy with her.

He wrung the washcloth out again, dragging it down Matt's arm and back, careful of his injuries. His eyes strayed over to Jennifer, still sleeping on the other bed. He couldn't imagine her having to make a choice between her parents. She had loved them both deeply, although she was closer to her mother.

Matt likely was the same, since he spent all of his time with her while Jesse was trying to get the Rangers up and running. He spent a lot of time in Tahoe at the beginning. Once things finally settled down, he was able to be at the cabin more, but by that time Matt was nearly nine and Cody was only a couple of years old.

Aaron knew, in his heart, that he'd misjudged the boy. Had known it for quite some time. But he was a stubborn old cuss. He knew it. Everyone knew it. And he was never one who apologized easily.

He sighed. In this case, an apology was paramount. He just hoped he got that chance. He wrung out the cloth again and laid it across the back of Matt's neck, then he moved over to the other bed and settled down next to Jen, his eyes closing in exhaustion.

/


	4. Chapter 4

**_CHAPTER FOUR_**

Finally, dawn broke over the mountains. It had been a long night and Aaron hadn't been able to completely stave off the fever. Making one last check on both Matt and Jen, leaving them both asleep, Aaron went to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee.

He would make a quick breakfast of cereal for himself and Jen. By the time they finished, it should be light enough to get Matt settled in the truck and start the drive to Tahoe. Once he dropped Matt at the hospital, he'd head over to the Ranger station to let them know what happened and have them contact Jesse.

It was a chore to get Matt loaded in the back of the truck, as he was only half conscious most of the time. Aaron checked him before they left and notice that some of the wounds had started bleeding again, no doubt because of the pushing and pulling necessary to get him loaded up. Aaron re-bandaged them, then settled Jen in next to him with instructions to bang on the window if anything happened.

He layered several blankets over Matt and wrapped an old quilt around Jennifer, then climbed behind the wheel and started down the mountain. It was a long, slow and bumpy ride for the first hour, until they finally hit pavement. Then he flipped on his emergency flashers and pressed his foot down on the accelerator.

Fifteen minutes later, he came to a stop just outside the Emergency Room doors. He raced inside. "I need a doctor! Got a man attacked by a bear!"

Several medical personnel hopped to work, two grabbing a gurney and wheeling it outside, two others running out ahead of them and hopping into the bed of the truck. Jennifer moved out of their way and climbed down to join her grandfather on the driveway. Aaron wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close.

The doctors did a cursory exam, then ordered Matt to be brought inside, one yelling out orders for blood tests and X-rays and operating rooms. That last bit scared Aaron just a bit, but he tried not to show it, for fear that Jennifer would pick up on it. He didn't want to scare her any more than she had been already.

They followed Matt and the medical folks inside, then Aaron was handed a clipboard. When he frowned, the nurse explained that they needed Matt's medical information. Aaron pushed it back toward her. "I don't know any of that information. But he's the Commander of the High Mountain Rangers. His name is Matt Hawkes. I need to get to the Ranger station to let his father know what happened."

"Sir..."

"I'll have one of the Rangers call you to take care of all that paperwork," Aaron said as he turned around and led Jen back out the door. "Come on, girl, we need to call Jesse."

The nurse was left holding a blank form, Aaron totally ignoring her efforts to get him to come back. But she ran over to her computer. She'd heard of the High Mountain Rangers, so she entered the name Aaron had given her and luckily found medical information on Matt Hawkes already on file.

Aaron jumped into his truck with Jen and hurried to the Ranger station. When they walked in the door, the Rangers were hurrying around, gathering up equipment. They looked like they were heading out on a search.

"Mr. Bass, what can we do for you?" He turned to find one of the Rangers behind him.

"Cutler isn't it?"

"Yes, Jim Cutler. Sorry for all the excitement. We haven't heard from Matt since last night. We're just heading out to search for him."

"Well, you can stop."

"You know where he is?" Cutler asking, looking up in surprise.

"I just dropped him off at the hospital."

Cutler turned to the others. "Hey, hold up! Matt's been found!" The others dropped what they were doing and gathered around. "Go on," Jim instructed the older man.

"Yesterday, a bear tried to attack Jennifer," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"You okay, Jen?" Tim Hart asked. She just nodded in reply.

"Matt saved her," Aaron said. "But he got hurt in the process."

"Where did this happen?" Cutler asked.

"Not far from my cabin." Aaron raised a hand. "I know, I should have radioed you all to come get him. But my radio has been broken for a couple weeks and I haven't gotten it fixed yet," he said, still feeling a deep guilt for not having done that. "I cleaned up the wounds and bandaged them. We drove him down this morning and dropped him off at the E.R. I need to let Jesse know."

Everyone could tell that Aaron was feeling bad. Frank Avila approached. "I can call him for you Mr. Bass. Why don't you and Jen have a seat. Jen, do you mind answering some questions? We need to make sure that the bear wasn't acting abnormally."

Jennifer looked up, tears in her eyes. "She was just protecting her cub," she said softly. "I didn't realized I'd gotten so close."

Robin Kelly crouched down next to Jen. "Honey, it's not your fault. You and your grandfather did what needed to be done. You helped Matt and got him to the hospital. That's what's important."

Jennifer's tears flowed even faster as she turned and buried her face in Aaron's side. He hugged her close as he moved her over to the sofa.

"Mr. Bass, what kind of injuries did Matt have?" Hart asked.

"Some deep gouges on his back and leg. I cleaned them up, stitched those I could and bandaged him. He was mostly unconscious and running a fever when we got him to the hospital. They need someone to help them with his medical information. I didn't know any of that."

"Don't worry about that," Hart told him. "He's been in Barton Hospital before. They have all of that on file. And I'll grab his records that we keep on file here, just to be sure what they have is up-to-date."

Frank walked over to the radio. They'd already called Jesse earlier, to see if Matt was at his house, so Jesse was already aware that something might be wrong. Picking up the mic, he took a deep breath. "K-L-M seven-seven-niner to K-L-M four-zero-five, come in Jesse.

It was only seconds later that the reply came. _"K-L-M four-zero-five to K-L-M seven-seven-niner, this is you find him? Is he alright?"_

"Jesse, good, you haven't left yet. Aaron Bass is here. He told us that Matt was attacked by a bear yesterday. He just dropped him off at the hospital."

_"How bad?" _ Jesse replied. _"Are Aaron and Jen okay?"_

"Yeah, they're fine. He told us that Matt has some deep gouges on his back & leg and he's running a fever."

_"Tell Aaron thanks. Cody and I will head straight to the hospital. Hawkes out!" _

"Rangers, out," Frank said before hanging the map back on its hook. He turned back to face the room. Everyone looked scared and anxious. "I'm gonna go to the hospital," he announced. "Who's going with me?"

As the acting Commander in Matt's absence, Hart knew it was up to him how to handle things. "Take Cutler," he ordered. "I'll get Matt's file from his office." He continued as he went to do just that. "And keep us informed. I'll notify HQ and let them know. Robin, get a statement from Jennifer and Aaron. Izzy... " Their youngest Ranger looked up in anticipation of something more to do then manning the radio"...man the radio." He slumped in defeat. "And make a fresh pot of coffee. I think we're gonna need it." Hart handed over the file to Avila and the pilot and Cutler hurried out of the building.

Orders doled out, Hart returned to Matt's office, to make all the notifications that needed to be taken care of when a Ranger was injured. As much as he wanted to be there with his Commander, his responsibilities were here, taking care of business in Matt's absence.

/

The waiting room was empty except for those waiting for word about Matt's condition. Jim and Frank had been joined within the hour by Jesse and Cody, then a few minutes later Robin had shown up with Aaron and Jen. Not long after they arrived, the Rangers had been called out to a rescue, leaving the others to wait and worry.

Aaron and Jesse were quietly talking, while Cody and Jennifer played a game of chess on a board Jen found in a cabinet while she was wandering around the room.

"...so sorry, Jesse," Aaron was telling his friend. "If I hadn't kept putting off coming to town, I would have had that radio fixed last week and he would have been down here last night, getting properly looked after."

"Aaron, from everything you've told me, and what the nurses told me when I got here, you did everything you could to help Matt. You cleaned his wounds, stitched up some of the deeper ones and kept him warm and quiet. You got him down here first thing this morning. The nurses say he's holding his own for now and the doctors are re-stitching all the wounds."

"I'll never forgive myself if..."

"Hey, I don't want to hear that kind of talk. Matt is going to be fine. He's healthy and strong. And as stubborn as his old man."

"I was wrong about him, Jesse. So wrong. He saved my Jennifer. Wrapped himself around her so that she-bear couldn't touch her."

"That's my boy," Jesse declared, proudly.

"Mr. Hawkes?"

Both men looked up to see a young man standing in the door way, wearing surgical scrubs under a white coat, a stethoscope draped around his neck.

"Yes. How's Matt?" Jesse asked, as all four gathered around the doctor.

"I'm Doctor Hartman. Your son is doing well. He's still running a fever, but we've been able to re-stitch and re-bandage the wounds. Sorry it took so long, but one of the deeper wounds required some addition internal stitching, which we had to do in the operating room. We're pushing a full spectrum of antibiotics. We'll keep a close watch over the next twelve to twenty-four hours, to see how his body reacts. We're hoping the fever starts to come down."

"And if it doesn't?" Cody asked. The doctor glanced Cody's way, then back to Jesse.

"It's okay, Doctor. This is Cody, Matt's brother," Jesse told the man.

"Cody...well if he still seems to be fighting the fever, we'll use other means, like cooling blankets and other medications if necessary. We have seen a miniscule drop already, so I'm hopeful that more medication won't be necessary."

"Matt doesn't like taking drugs," Cody told him.

"Good, because I prefer not to prescribe them unless absolutely necessary."

Jesse nodded, approving of that approach. He loathed doctors that over-medicated their patients.

"When can we see him?" Jesse asked, putting his arm around Cody's shoulder.

"He's in recovery now. Once we get him settled in a room, I'll have the nurse come find you. That should be about forty-five minutes or so. I'm the on-call doctor on duty tonight, so I'll be checking on him periodically and they'll call me if any complications arise."

"Thank you, Doctor," Jesse said, holding out his hand.

The doctor grasped and shook. "My pleasure. I'll be back to check on him in a couple of hours."

Jesse watched him walked out of the room, the worry still not completely gone. He knew it wouldn't be until he could see his son and talk to him.

"He will be okay, won't he, Dad?"

Jesse turned to look at the worried face of his youngest. He pulled him close, wrapping his other arm around him. Cody, in turn, hugged his father tight. "He'll be fine." When the young man in his arms didn't readily agree, Jesse tried again. "Cody, your brother is one of the strongest and toughest men I know. He's young and healthy. And he's stubborn."

"So, except for the young part, he's just like you," Cody teased.

Jesse growled and ruffled Cody's hair. "Watch it, boy. I can still put you over my knee for such impertinence."

"You'd have to catch me first," the young man said, finally smiling up at his father.

Jesse grabbed Cody's face in both hands and leaned forward, giving him a sloppy wet kiss on the forehead.

"Daaad! Yuk." Cody wiped a hand across the forehead. Jesse smiled, his heart lifting a bit, as it usually did when around Cody.

/

An hour later, Jesse and Cody were sitting next to Matt's hospital bed. Matt was lying on his stomach, the blanket pulled up to his waist, his entire back covered in white gauze bandages. Both arms had IV's attached and a nasal cannula delivered oxygen through the tubing in his nostrils. And his right leg under the blankets was nearly twice as big around as his left, being wrapped in bandages.

The Rangers had stopped by on their way back from their most recent rescue, spending just a few minutes in the room before having to return to the station.

Aaron and Jennifer had decided to take the opportunity to gather some supplies, to both replenish the first aid kit he'd pretty much depleted while caring for Matt, and also get the parts Aaron needed to repair his radio. Aaron had insisted that he planned to get extra parts so that he'd be able to repair it right away if needed in the future. He was never going to allow this to happen again.

He'd confessed to Jesse, almost ashamedly, that it scared him to death that it might have been Jennifer who had been injured and he felt guilty that he hadn't been so diligent and it cost Matt so much pain. Jesse had tried to assure him that Matt would understand, and that Jesse himself held no malice toward him, but Aaron kept insisting that it would never happened again, and apologizing for not being able to get Matt to help more quickly.

Finally, Jesse had just accepted his apology and forgiven him, which seemed to make Aaron feel better. He and Jen left, promising to return with lunch for Jesse and Cody.

A moan from the bed alerted both Hawkes men that Matt was coming around.

"Mathew, son, open your eyes," Jesse coaxed. "Son, you're in the hospital. You're gonna be fine, but I need you to open your eyes." When he got no response he looked at his youngest. "Cody, you try. He might listen to you."

Cody nodded and moved closer. "Hey, big brother. You need to get off your lazy butt and get back to work!" As Jesse continued to rub his hand along Matt's uninjured leg, Cody leaned in closer. "Matt, are you gonna let your Rangers show you up? They're out there working while you're lazing around in bed."

Matt groaned and moved his head. "Always got to appeal to his competitive side," Cody remarked, smirking at his father. "Come on, Matt," he whined, "Cutler is showing you up!"

When Matt began to move a bit more, he became aware of his injuries and hissed.

"Easy, Mathew," Jesse said, leaning close. "You're hurt, don't move around."

Finally, Matt began to open his eyes, blinking several times, before closing them again.

"Cody, go get a nurse or doctor," Jesse instructed before moving closer to Matt's head and running his hand through his hair. "Just stay still Matt, but open your eyes."

"Hur's," came a soft hiss.

"I know it hurts, son. Do you remember what happened?"

It was several long seconds later before the quiet, "Bear," was heard, and Matt opened it eyes, finally focusing on his father's face.

"That's right. You saved Jen's life, son. I'm so proud of you."

A small smile slid across Matt's face as his eyes drifted shut again, just as the doctor walked into the room.

"I understand our patient has decided to wake up," he said, pulling his stethoscope out of his pocket.

"Sort of," Jesse remarked as he watched the doctor move around to the other side of the bed.

"Matt, I'm just going listen to your heart and lungs," the doctor explained. "Then we're going to get you settled on your side. It might hurt a bit."

After getting his vitals, the doctor and two nurses settled Matt on his left side, with several pillows stuffed in front of him. The doctor then ordered some additional pain killers to offset the pain that was caused by the movement.

Matt had been able to stay conscious throughout the adjustments, but once the painkiller was administered, he settled back into a deep sleep. Once the doctor did another check on his vitals, he turned to face Jesse and Cody again.

Smiling, he hung the stethoscope around his neck. "It looks like his temp is finally returning to close to normal. And his vitals are looking good."

Jesse sent a silent prayer of thanks, smiling at the doctor as he pulled Cody close. "That's good news."

"I'm optimistic. We'll keep a close watch on his injuries, make sure the infection doesn't return. Your friend did a good job cleaning and bandaging the wounds to begin with. That helped a great deal in keeping the infections to a minimum."

Jesse nodded. "Will you do me a favor and tell him that, Doctor. Aaron is feeling very guilty for not getting Matt help sooner."

"I'll be sure to mention it next time I see him." He glanced back at his patient. "Matt should sleep for the rest of the night. I gave him a sedative along with the painkiller. And you two look like you could use a good night's sleep yourself."

"If it's all the same to you, Doctor, I think we'll stick around," Jesse said, having seen the look of protest on Cody's face.

The doctor smiled. "I had a feeling. I'll have the nurses bring in a couple of more comfortable chairs."

"Thank you."

"Have me paged if anything comes up or if you have any questions," the doctor said, inviting them to ask anything they wanted.

"We're fine. We'll be sure to have someone get you if we need you."

As the doctor left the room, Cody pulled free of the father's grasp and moved the chair closer to the bed, settling in for the long night ahead.

/

"Cody!" Matt's yelled startled his father, who had been dozing in the comfortable recliner chair next to his son's bed. Jesse stood up quickly and settled easily onto the bed, reaching out a hand and setting it on the back of Matt's neck.

"Easy, Matthew. Don't move around too much, you'll pull the stitches."

Matt had woken up with a start, obviously startled from a nightmare. His eyes darted around the room. When he didn't see his brother, he tried to push himself up. "Cody...where's Cody?" he asked anxiously. "Is Cody okay?"

"Your brother's fine. He just went down to grab some breakfast."

"The bear...Cody...CODY!"

"Shhh, son, your brother is fine. He wasn't there. It wasn't Cody, Matt." Jesse rubbed the back of Matt's head and his neck, hoping to calm his on down. But nothing seemed to work. Matt was agitated and he kept trying to get up, his eyes continuously moving, searching for his brother. "Matt, you have to listen to me, your brother is fine. Cody is okay."

Jesse wrapped his other hand around Matt's wrist, concerned that his pulse was racing so fast and his breathing was so ragged.

"Matt, son, you have to calm down. Settle down, boy. Everything is okay. No one else got hurt. Cody is fine. Matt, please, son…" But Matt continue to squirm and call out for his brother. Jesse was just about to push the call button for the nurse to give Matt a sedative, but his fingers halted at the call behind him.

"Dad?" Jesse jerked his head around and blew out a relieved breath.

"Cody! Get over here!" he ordered.

Cody quickly set down the drinks and food in his hands and rushed to his father's side. Jesse stood up and pulled Cody toward the bed. "Matt thinks you were hurt by that bear. He keeps calling out for you."

Cody understood and quickly took over where Jesse had left off. He sat in the chair, pulling it right up next to his brother's bed. Wrapping his hand around the wrist his father had released, he moved his face close to his brother's. "Matt, I'm here. Open your eyes, big brother. Look at me. I'm fine, I'm okay, Matty."

He rubbed his thumb across the underside of Matt's wrist, while the fingers of his other hand kept pushing through Matt's sweaty hair. "Matt, come on, look at me." He could see Matt's eyes still moving, but not focusing on what was right in front of him. "MATT!"

The loud voice finally got through, just as a nurse pushed through the door. Jesse stopped her with a raised hand and Matt finally looked right at his brother. She whispered to Jesse that she'd call the doctor and slipped back into the hallway.

"Cody?" Matt whispered, staring at his little brother.

"Yeah, Matt, it's me."

Matt's hand weakly gripped the front of Cody's shirt, then traveled up his neck, and finally stopped when it landed on his face. "…okay…?"

"I'm fine, Matt. Just fine. I'm okay." Cody continued to push his fingers through Matt's hair, as the hand around his brother's wrist noticed that Matt's heartbeat was slowing down. "That's it, Matty, calm down. I'm here and I'm fine."

"Okay? Bear didn't hurt you?" Matt asked as he pulled his brother closer, until finally their foreheads touched. Cody stopped stroking Matt's hair and slid his hand under Matt's head to grip the back of his neck.

"No, the bear didn't hurt me. I'm okay. I'm safe." Cody didn't feel the need to remind Matt that he hadn't been there. It wasn't important. The only thing that Matt needed to know was that Cody was fine. Nothing else mattered right then. Nothing mattered except that Matt knew his brother was there and safe. Both boys closed their eyes but neither relaxed their grip on the other.

Jesse turned at the noise behind him. Doctor Hartman was watching the brothers, but not making a move to intrude. He touched Jesse on the arm and gestured with his head for the older man to follow him out into the hallway. Jesse took one last look toward his sons, then left the room, closing the door behind him.

"I'm glad Cody was able to calm him down," Dr. Hartman said as Jesse joined him. "I didn't want to have to sedate him again."

"Cody's good for him. I think Matt had a nightmare, thought Cody had been attacked by the bear. He was frantic."

Hartman nodded. "Hopefully, as we wean him off the heavy-duty pain killers, the nightmares will decrease. But I want to keep the morphine IV in for now. As he has increased time awake, he'll be feeling more pain. I want him to have the option to self-administer some pain relief if that happens."

"This is one of those things that patients can't overdose on, right?" Jesse asked.

"That's right. He'll be able to press the button for a dose if the pain gets too bad, but it will only administer a certain amount at a time and a limited number of doses per day. Each day, I'll lower the dose, and the number of times it will administer, until we can get him off the drip completely."

"How long?"

"Couple of days, three at the most I would think, barring any complications that set in. I'm optimistic that his fever came down so quickly. He'll have to be very careful about moving around, and not lie on his back or his right side. We'll continue to adjust his position from his stomach to his left side a couple of times a day to prevent bed sores."

"Any idea when he might be able to go home?" Jesse asked, glancing at the closed door.

"At least a week, maybe ten days. We'll see how the wounds are healing. I'd like to keep him here until we can get the stitches out of his leg. The back wounds are deeper, those will likely have to stay in a few days longer. But as long as he's careful, he should be able to go home with those still in."

Hartman gripped Matt's chart, which he carried in his hand. "I understand you and Cody live quite a ways up on the mountain."

"That's right."

"Will Matt be going home with you? Because I'm not sure it would be a good idea to have him so far from town, in case something happens."

"Matt has a place in Tahoe. We'll be staying there."

The doctor nodded, smiling. "Good. We'll talk more about what to expect and how to care for his wounds as he gets closer to discharge. In the meantime, just keep doing what you're doing. Let's head back in, I'll get some fresh vitals and then we can let him rest."

Jesse nodded and followed the doctor back into the room. Matt appeared to be asleep, while Cody had his eyes open, watching his brother and slowing running his thumb across the pulse point on Matt's wrist, still muttering softly to his older brother. "It's okay, Matt. I'm fine, I'm safe. Just rest. I'm okay."

"Cody." The younger brother looked up and smiled at his father.

"I think he's asleep," he whispered. Jesse smiled back.

"Doctor Hartman needs to check him. It won't take a minute."

Cody nodded and released his brother's wrist. When Matt started to stir at the lack of contact, the doctor grabbed Cody's hand and put it back on Matt's arm. "You're fine there, Cody. I'll work around you."

Cody settled back onto the chair, smiling as Matt calmed down again, aware even in his sleep that his brother was nearby.

/

Jesse looked up at the knock on the door of Matt's room. He smiled to see Aaron Bass poke his head in.

"Aaron, come on in," he said, setting down the newspaper he'd been reading.

The older man approached the bed. Matt appeared to be dozing. He wasn't sure if he wanted the boy to wake up or not. "How's he doing?"

"Much better. He got the stitches in his leg out this morning, as well as some of the ones in his back. The others will come out in a few days."

"Good, good."

Jesse watched his old friend, who appeared nervous and uncomfortable, staring at the young man in the bed. Matt was lying on his side, the blanket below his waist and his back covered in bandages. "Something on your mind, Aaron?" Jesse asked.

Aaron waved his hand toward Matt. "That bear really got him good."

Jesse glanced toward his son, then looked back at his friend. "Yeah, she did. But the doctor said that if it hadn't been for your care in cleaning and bandaging the wounds, Matt might have been worse off. The infection wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been if those wounds had gone untreated before he was brought in to the hospital." Jesse's gaze moved to the window, where he could see the peaks of the mountains he lived in. "Have I told you yet how grateful I am for what you did for my son?"

Aaron didn't reply right away, instead moved closer to the window. "He saved my Jen. I keep imagining those claw marks on her. That bear would have killed her."

Jesse stood up and walked over to stand beside his friend. Both men turned around to watch Matt, who was beginning to stir. "I know Matt would tell you that it was worth it. He would do anything to keep another from suffering like that."

"Jess...I want you to know...I...I have been such an idiot." He shook his head and turned his eyes to the floor, ashamed to look at his friend.

Jesse put a hand on the other man's shoulder. "Aaron..."

"No! No, Jesse. I am sorry...and I'll tell Matt when he wakes up...I was so wrong to treat him like I have all these years...I thought... when he left with Jackie..." Aaron was having a difficult time articulating exactly what he wanted to say.

Jesse leaned against the windowsill, and crossed his arms in front of him. "Why did you?"

The old man shook his head. He briefly looked Jesse's way, then turned and faced the window. He felt claustrophobic being in town, with all the people around. He longed to return to his mountain, but had forced himself to stay near the hospital until he got the chance to speak to Matt.

"It takes a certain kind of person to live up there," he began, gesturing with is chin toward the mountain peaks. "Jackie...I never thought she belonged...didn't fit in."

Jesse nodded. "Yeah, in the end, I think you're right about that," he agreed.

"I wasn't really surprised when she left, Jesse. In a way, I was almost glad. I know it was selfish of me, but with her gone, I hoped that you would come over more often. And you did, but...but you were so hurt that she'd gone...that Matt was gone..." He glanced over his shoulder at the man in the bed. "I hated that your boy had been a cause of all that pain I saw in you. It reminded me of how I was when my Jen died."

"Matt was just being a good son to his mom," Jesse insisted.

"Yeah, I know you're right. I...and I know I was wrong to take my dislike of Jackie out on the boy. You...I always thought that him leaving hurt you worse than Jackie."

"It did," Jesse told him, quietly. "Jackie and I...we had drifted apart. I knew she didn't like it in the mountains, wanted to be closer to town. And I admit, I was hurt when Matt decided to go with her. I thought he loved the mountains. Never thought he'd voluntarily leave them...leave me. He told me once that his mom needed him, that I didn't. I think I understand why he thought that, but he was so wrong. I did need him. But I also wanted him to know that I respected his decision. And I tried to make sure that he knew that I loved him and that he would always be welcome with me. But that doesn't mean it didn't hurt. And it doesn't mean that I ever stopped wondering why he really made that choice."

"Because I needed to be sure." Both men jumped at the soft voice coming from the bed.

Jesse hurried back to Matt's side, putting a hand on his shoulder to keep him from moving around.

"Sure of what, son?"

"That I was really yours...that you really wanted me."

"Matt, what are you...?"

"You and mom were arguing," Matt interrupted. "She said that you questioned whether I was really your son." Jesse guiltily looked over this shoulder at Aaron. "She said that Aaron made you wonder if I was really yours or not." Aaron's face turned red in shame. "I always figured that's why Aaron hated me, because he didn't think I was your son."

"Oh, Mathew," Jesse cried, pulling the chair up to the bed and leaning close, wrapping one hand around the back of Matt's neck.

"I know, now, that it was stupid. But at the time, I just... I wanted to see if you would fight for me, would insist that I stay, like you did with Cody."

Jesse hung his head down, his forehead briefly touching the bed, before looking back to his son. "Oh, Matt, I let you down, didn't I?" Jesse could feel the tears fighting for release. "I wanted to give you the room to make such a big decision for yourself and NOT force my own opinion on you. I wanted you to know that I respected the young man you were becoming. And instead I gave you the impression that I didn't care."

He began running his fingers through the blond hair at the back of Matt's neck. "Your mom and I, we had our share of arguments over the years. And I won't deny that there was one brief, very brief, time when I thought the she might have cheated on me. But son, I never really doubted that you were mine. Yes, I did tell her that, not long after you were born, but I think it was more about me being an idiot and trying to hurt her, than actually believing that you weren't mine. You know how stubborn I can be. Hell, you are just like me. You are your father's son."

Matt's eyes, still dulled by residual pain, stared into his father's, wanting the honest truth, _needing _the truth. And finding it in the clear blue eyes of the man who raised him, the man he had always adored and tried to emulate. The man who's opinion he valued above anyone else's. He smiled and nodded, accepting the words and finally, finally knowing that his father had no doubts that Matt was his son.

Aaron watched all this from his perch near the window, feeling lower than dirt. He remembered the conversations he'd had with Jesse about his wife. He remembered putting the thoughts into Jesse head that maybe Jackie wasn't as faithful as her husband thought she was. He'd seen Jackie hugging a man once while he was in town and she'd brought the boys down to see their father at the Ranger Station.

Aaron had been eating lunch in a restaurant while he waiting for some repairs to be done on his truck. Jackie had walked in alone. She'd gone directly to a table in the back. The man sitting there had stood up and they had hugged, then sat down to share lunch. Aaron had never liked Jackie. Part of that was due to the fact that she had never been shy about voicing her dislike of living so isolated in the mountains.

But if he was honest with himself...and sometimes he found that difficult...he knew that he was also envious that Jackie, who hated living on the mountain, was still alive, while his beloved Jen, who thrived in the quiet hills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, had died several years before. After Jackie left and as he got older, he knew that he could never voice those thoughts to Jesse for fear that his dearest friend...his surrogate son...would abandon him.

It had been only recently, when his granddaughter had come to live with him that he began examining his life and regretting some of the things he'd said and done. His greatest shame had been the small part he'd played in the break-up of Jesse's marriage. Oh, he had no illusions that it likely would have occurred anyway. Even Jesse admitted that, even though they still loved each other, it was best that they lived apart. That didn't lessen the guilt that Aaron felt.

He cleared his throat and approached the bed. Both Jesse and Matt looked up at him.

"Um, Matt, uh...first, I just wanted to say, thank you. You saved my Jenny and I will be forever grateful for that." When Matt started to speak, Aaron just held up his hand. "I know you'll tell me that you were just doing your job, or that anyone would have done that. And that may be true. But the fact is that _you_ did it. _You_ saved her life. And you were injured doing it."

"You're welcome," Matt replied. "I'm glad she's okay."

"Me too...me too. Matt..." Aaron briefly closed his eyes, hating himself for hemming and hawing. "I hope you can forgive an old man for being so selfish and so petty for so many years." Confused, Matt exchanged a look with his father, who shrugged his shoulders. Matt turned his attention back to Aaron as the man continued.

"I've made some mistakes in my life, Matt. One of my worst was allowing my grief and loneliness to turn to anger and bitterness. I turned into a stubborn and grouchy old man who...well, I am ashamed of how I've treated you. You're the son of my closest and dearest friend. And my anger at your mother for leaving him, well I'm ashamed for taking that anger out on you."

"Why did you?" Matt asked.

A rueful smile slid across Aaron's lips. "Frankly, because you were here, and she wasn't."

"And now? That couldn't be the only reason. Because it's not just me you're angry at, it's all of the Rangers. It's like we became enemy number one when dad retired."

Aaron nodded. He knew this would take a while, and Matt looked uncomfortable having to twist he head to look up at Aaron, so the older man pulled a second chair over and sat down next to Jesse.

"When Jesse moved up here, my wife was still alive, but she was already very sick. We only had one child, a daughter, who was away at college.I met Jesse one day while I was out hunting. He'd only been here a few weeks, fresh out of the Marines and back from Vietnam. He wanted to be as far away from people as he could get. But he allowed me and Jennifer to befriend him. He became not only a friend," he said, turning to look at Jesse, "but a member of the family, the son we never had."

Jesse smiled in return. It was obvious that he felt the same way.

"When you left," Aaron continued, turning his gaze back to Matt, "Jesse was in a lot of pain. It reminded me of when my daughter left. She and I had stopped speaking long before that and when she died, we had just begun to communicate again. I hated that Jesse, that my son, was having to go through it, too. I'd always accused my daughter of deserting us. I guess...well, I felt you'd done the same to Jesse."

"Aaron..."

Once again, Aaron raised a hand to silence Jesse. "I know, Jess, you didn't think that. You were so proud of Matt, that he'd made such a selfless decision to be with his mom."

Matt's eyes shot toward his father, an action not missed by either man. "You didn't know that, did you, Matt? Your dad...he used to boast how proud he was of the man you were turning into. He knew that it wasn't easy for you to leave the mountain, to leave him and Cody, but you did it for your mom. As much as he missed you, he understood why you did it and respected you for it. That didn't mean it didn't hurt."

Matt's eyes turned sad, causing Jesse to lean forward and kiss him on the forehead. "It was bad all the way around, Matthew. No one got off unscathed. Not you or Cody, not your mom or me. But we came to forgive each other and were able to still have a close and loving family. And that was all due to you and Cody. If it had been up to your mother and me, we probably never would have spoken again. But because you and Cody wanted to still be together, we were forced to talk and spend time together. It wasn't always easy, but we made it work, the four of us."

"Yeah, we did, didn't we?" Matt said, smiling. But when he turned to Aaron, the smile left his face. "But, what I don't understand is your animosity toward the Rangers. Dad started the team, why would you hate them so much?"

"Because you keep bringing those damn noisy machines up here!" Aaron said. "Helicopters, snowmobiles, radios...humph...nothing but noise!"

Matt and Jesse just looked at each other, then both burst out laughing, although the movement caused the stitches to pull on Matt's back, he still chuckled at the thought that all the time they thought Aaron hated them, he just hated all the modern equipment they used because it disrupted the quiet of his beloved mountain.

"That's progress, Aaron," Jesse remarked. "I would have loved to have all that stuff when I was in charge of the Rangers."

"Humph," was Aaron's only reply.

/

**_EPILOGUE _**

Aaron and Jesse sat beside each other in a couple of the half dozen Adirondack chairs on the back porch of the High Mountain Ranger station, both of them nursing a cup of coffee. It had been two months since the bear attack and the Rangers were throwing a party in honor of Matt's return to command. He would officially take over again the next morning, so the Rangers had decided to celebrate with a barbeque.

Matt would still have to take it easy for a while and not participate in any rescues, since he was still undergoing physical therapy to strengthen the muscles that had been damaged in his back and shoulders. But he had been growing restless just sitting at home and so decided to return part-time, as long as he didn't do any physical activity. He would be strictly in supervisory mode.

And since all of this Rangers were aware of the limitations imposed on their Commander, they would keep a close eye on him and not let him return to full field duty until the doctors deemed him completely recovered. And each of them, over the course of the day, had made it known to Matt that he would be under strict scrutiny.

The barbeque had grown when the local Fire Department, Police Department and Sheriff's Office found out about it. Off-duty personnel had been called at home and began arriving with extra grills, beer coolers, picnic tables and the like. On-duty first responders would stop in as they could between calls to grab a bite and welcome Matt back to work.

The High Mountain Rangers had a good reputation in the area, and each of those agencies had called on the Rangers for assistance in the past. And the Rangers had called on them for mutual aid at times as well. Emergency personnel were a close knit group, no matter where they worked, and knew that often their lives depended on others from neighboring agencies.

Dr Hartman and the nurses and other doctors who had cared for Matt while he was in the hospital had also been invited and Jesse could see some of them mixing with the local firefighters and law enforcement personnel.

"So, Mr. Bass, it's nice to see you down off that mountain," Frank Avila said as he sat down on the top step nearby, leaning against the railing and taking a sip from his Pepsi can.

"Don't get used to it, boy. I'm only here for Matt."

Frank and Jesse exchanged grins. "The Rangers want to thank you for taking such good care of our boss, Mr. Bass. If it hadn't been for you, he might have died out there."

Aaron just grunted, with a sour look on his face, as he usually did. Then Jesse slapped him on the arm. Aaron frowned at the other man, then sighed.

"You're welcome."

Jesse laughed. "Now, see, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

Aaron just grunted again, causing the others to laugh as Frank left to join his fellow Rangers again. The two men finished their coffee as an impromptu game of touch football started up, each side consisting of a mix of policeman, fireman, Rangers and hospital personnel. Over the next hour, players cycled in and out of the game, some leaving to take a breather, some to grab another burger or hotdog.

Matt trudged up the stairs of the porch and dropped down in the chair next to his father.

Aaron leaned forward and looked him over with a critical eye. "You doing okay, boy?" he asked.

"I'm fine, Mr. Bass. Just needed a break."

"You be sure not to over-do it," he grunted. "And… and call me Aaron."

Matt raised an eyebrow, then turned a questioning, and shocked, glance at his father, who just smiled behind his coffee cup, as he raised it to take another drink.

"Uh, thanks…Aaron. I'll make sure to take it easy. I don't want to work the desk any longer than I have to."

"Good. Good. You be sure to do that. We need you back in those mountains, doing your job."

Matt smiled. "And I can't wait to get back there." He leaned back in his seat, accepting a cup of coffee from Jennifer, who then sat down on the deck beside her grandfather and watched the festivities.

Jesse finished his coffee and set the cup down on the deck. He leaned back, laced his fingers together and took a deep breath of fresh mountain air. He was content. The day was beautiful, his sons and the Rangers were enjoying themselves, and his closest friend was nearby. It didn't get any better than this.

THE END


End file.
